Bachelor of Arts

Middle East Studies

Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Cloud (Online)

Middle East studies provide a comprehensive understanding of the events and issues shaping the region, with an emphasis on both historical and contemporary issues relevant to the analysis of the Middle East as a regional system, as well as its place in the international system. Importance is placed on the changing role of the US in the Middle East since the end of the Cold War and its push to reshape the region’s political landscape according to American national interests. Several of the endemic conflict situations that exist in the Middle East are examined, including the War on Terror; the invasion and occupation of Iraq; the Israel-Palestine impasse; the 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis; Iran’s nuclear ambitions; and the role of ‘rogue states’.